Users Want More Control Over Reliability and Cost of Power
With a population of 22,000 people, Geneva, Ill., is a typical Midwestern suburb. But inside city hall, officials are clamoring for more powerthe electrical kindand they have succeeded. Geneva is building a 29-Mw, natural-gas-fired plant that planners hope will bring energy independence to residents and businesses.
Users hit hard by todays erratic cost of transmitted energy are showing noticeable interest in meeting peak power needs with distributed generation (ENR 4/9/01 p. 44). But economics is not the only reason. Despite the high up-front investment, these pocket powerplants sited near the demand may gain even more popularity as users evaluate the need for reliable, local power during mass outages, such as the grid meltdown the Northeast experienced on Aug. 14.